Saturday, February 26, 2005

Visibility in Malaysia

From 0.02 Ringgit - A note on extraordinary smog and haze in his locale.


And......A true believe it or don't. Coming out of a Malaysian restaurant in Boston one night we were approached by two gentlemen who turned out to be bodyguards for the Prime Minister. Or so they said a few minutes later. We had no reason to doubt, particularly as they had been having dinner inside with a guy who was obviously a Boston cop. One of them wanted to cuff a smoke and practice his English a little bit. Nice guys, very friendly. We ended up talking for ten minutes.

BTK Killer Press Conference - pt 2

They're fifteen minutes into this thing and they're still congratulating each other. Wow! They just finished thanking their Congressman. How about getting to the point?

BTK Killer Press Conference

Odd atmosphere where the smiles, hugs and applause make it seem like they've just won a big game. I would think that at best this is a bittersweet experience and more suited to a plain and sober announcement and an air of grim satisfaction.

Friday, February 25, 2005

RSS Explained

Short and to the point, the best explanation of RSS that I've read. Helpful links also included. What is RSS?

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Now Playing - The Apprentice

In the other room. It starts with the Ojays - For The Love of Money, which is cool but they take out the part about money being the root of all evil and that was the whole point of the song.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Now Playing - Ma Rainey

   Ma Rainey - Stack O'Lee Blues: What's that Ma? It was your government, but they done you wrong.

Lauren Rainey

   I posted on this a while back when it looked like she was getting the short end of the Medicaid stick. Now they are reviewing their nursing care policy and Rainey may yet get the care she needs to live. Not necessarily though. Stay tuned.

The link goes to waveflux.net which has a longer story and a link to local TV report on the case.

Waveflux

Monday, February 21, 2005

Connected Coast to Coast Embraces 'The Law of the Flow'

MSNBC has a new show on blogs. The Word Unheard has a thorough review. The review is worth reading and the show sounds good. Look for it at noon and 5PM Eastern.
The Word Unheard: Blogger's Review: Connected Coast to Coast Embraces 'The Law of the Flow'

Now Playing

Money Changes Everything, Cyndi Lauper - by way of the Coverville Podcast. There are some great podcasts up and running these days. Check out Digital Flotsam and the Daily Source Code. Both are entertaining and informative. And for short pieces openpodcast.org has a variety of great stuff. And I almost forgot Area 51, very funny, very funny.

More On Keith

Or maybe that should read Moron Keith. I've been comment spammed I guess. Keith sent me a quote which I posted on the 17th. Later on I googled it and discovered that it's a line from an upcoming movie. I'd publish the name but I don't want to encourage Keith and his friends. :-))

Malcolm X Inspiration and a Run On Rant

Here's a little more on Malcolm X including the time he spent in Boston. This is from gilscottheron.com. And speaking of Gil Scott Heron, technology has changed quite a bit since he wrote his most well remembered song and at this point it's hard to imagine how the revolution could escape being televised. Televised with team coverage by an assortment of plastic looking anchors with long faces and perfect coifs, and in depth discussion by the manic and desperate looking Linda Vester on Fox News, (try less coffee Linda or amphetamine or whatever it is that makes me think you're about to pop a blood vessel), and hashed over ad nauseum on the radio by any number of people whose main interest is attracting listeners in whatever way possible, (fuck any kind of rational conversation leading to a resolution of a particular issue, they just want endless controversy, and blogged by the great unwashed, (that's what most of the media elite think bloggers are), people who have the nerve to comment on anything they see fit to without benefit of any training in journalism or any experience much less a degree from Columbia, and podcasted by a similar crowd and etc. etc. etc.

Malcolm X Inspiration

In Memory of Malcolm X

40 years ago today Malcolm X was murdered during a speaking engagement in New York City. This piece by Bill Straub of Scripps Howard News Service is a brief bio.

Sunday, February 20, 2005

Another Happy Subscriber


Accident Bloody Hand: Fin
Originally uploaded by sunburned.
People just love this blog.

Napster bows to Big Music

The entertainment industry has one last chance to get a court ruling in their favor when they go before the Supreme Court on March 29. If the ruling goes against them they may have to stop suing twelve year olds and dead people. p2pnet.net - the original daily p2p and digital media news site

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Thanks Keith!!

Keith wrote to say. "This is the old days, the bad days, the all or nothing days, they're back." I don't know Keith and I don't know exactly what he means but I have been thinking lately that the last few years feel like the '50s.

News of the present

Flickr and Blogger don't seem to be talking to each other. Repeated attempts to blog from Flickr have all failed. It's usually very easy.

A story I’d like to see in the Onion

News Of The Future:   Heavy Metal Turns Fifty

I’ve even got the caption for the photo: Rockers with walkers, Emcee Dick Clark is joined by Vince Neill and Tommy Lee.

Flickr

This is a test post from flickr, a fancy photo sharing thing.

Giant Brains Chow Down at Genius Workshop

Wine was drunk*, thoughts were thunk, opinions freely given.
*Strictly speaking there don't appear to be any wine glasses on the table.

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Sakir ECZACIBASI: Radical Departures - Photography Exhibition in New York

The photography exhibition is over but there's a bio and a tantalizing image on this web page from lightmillenium.org. The artist is out of Turkey and he can be found on Google if you're willing to go beyond the first page of results. You may need to read Turkish to do more than look at the pictures.
Sakir ECZACIBASI: Radical Departures - Photography Exhibition in New York

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Napster Subscription Woes???

According to a study by Parks Associates the new Napster subscription service may stall before it ever gets started.

From The Register: "There can be a financial benefit to the subscription services, if you download enough content, but the fundamental barrier appears the rental element - users don't own the music they download*.  Stop paying Napster, Virgin or whoever, and your downloads immediately become unplayable."


*My emphasis.   I mentioned this the other day. If you're paying $15.00 a month/$180.00 a year, just what are you getting? This seems like an awful lot to pay for a rental. Note: while looking for information on Napster** I saw that the Register also had a story called Why Napster Will Be A Fully-Integrated Flop. I believe!


**I tried to check their rates but the page was down when I went to it.

Monday, February 14, 2005

Bolivian Babies

Good times are tasteless. :-)

From OpenPodcast.org - #964 in the January 2005 archive

Sunday, February 13, 2005

Potato Fair Amps Up

The sounds of the 1st Patata Rock will began yesterday Saturday 12th at 07:00 p.m. of February in the square of Villanueva de Valdegovia and continued ‘until it lasted'.

>>Rock and Reggae, combo jazz, potato lifting, wood chopping were all part of the day's activities.>>
EiTB24.com

Former ski bum makes music interesting

The music teacher I wish I had. Teacher with a twist: Former ski bum makes music interesting - billingsgazette.com

Napster - Buying an iPod is Stupid

They're starting a big promotion: "We're going to be communicating to people that it's stupid to buy an iPod."
Much smarter it is to pay a monthly fee over and over and over and then lose all the music if you quit the club. Oh yeah.
Forbes.com: Napster To Go campaign will challenge Apple iTunes' lead

Friday, February 11, 2005

minority carpet


minority carpet
Originally uploaded by Candlemaker.
That's how the Changzhou Around Globe Carpet Manufacture Co. Ltd. refer to this beautiful carpet and several others. I suppose they're referring to an ethnic group but maybe not.
This site is large and well organized and it's the third one I've seen tonight that advertises to an American market through Google. Nice looking stuff too. Also, unless I see something really great this will be the last carpet post.

Make Money Without Doing Anything

bla bla bla Looks like I should filter some of my own ads too.

The Poetic and Artistic Elegance of Chinese Carpet Companies

Tianjin Hengda Carpet This site is far more sophisticated than the other one. Very cool graphics and a really rich feel to the whole thing. The site is in English and Chinese.
Chinese carpet companies are an odd thing to blog about you say. I'm looking for candidates to filter out of a Google Ad Sense project, the subject is flooring and carpets and these companies are among the advertisers I've seen. They're not the competition though so they won't be filtered.

It is warm to dream because of having you。

Changed in the translation. Gained in the translation? The text from the home page of Guang Hui Carpets in China doesn't quite hang together but it's still the best thing I've read lately.

Pave on the ground ;
Whose dreamland it is ;
Simple and elegant ;
comfortable Bright and magnificent ;
The world is beautiful because of dreaming ;
It is warm to dream because of having you。

GUANG HUI CARPETS

Quote Of The Month

Time for the quote of the month. It's a month late and to make up for it I was going to find one on procrastination but a brief search through my collection failed to turn up anything. I didn't even bother to look for one about indolence. Anyway, here goes...


Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in
another time. - Hebrew Proverb


Note: I got this from A Word A Day and they identify it as a Hebrew proverb but a Google brought up Proverbs from Around the World and they list it as a Chinese proverb. Not that the two are mutually exclusive, I'm sure there's any number of Hebrews in China. Due to the low level of religious tolerance by the Chinese government they may be keeping their heads low, but they're there.

Well.....I just found a site that used this as their QOTM last November so here's the link, Rexanne's Web Review.

Celebrate Darwin Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the anniversary of Charles Darwin's birthday and there will be observances around the world. DarwinDay.org has a listing.

Yahoo! News - Teach Evolution: Leave No Child Behind

From Edna Devore of Space.com:

The universe evolved from the Big Bang to systems of galaxies, stars, and planets; these, including Earth, continue to evolve. Astronomers are teasing out the role of dark matter and dark energy. Life on Earth goes back at least 3.5 billion years as evidenced by fossilized stromatolites from Australia. Over that vast span of time, there's evidence that life evolved from small single celled-organisms to the incredible diversity we see today. Scientific research continues to discover additional evidence that supports evolution as the fundamental description for how the physical universe and life developed in the past and will continue to change in the future.


Yet, teaching evolution remains controversial in America.


Yahoo! News - Teach Evolution: Leave No Child Behind

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Now Playing

BC vs. Notre Dame, the Eagles 20 game win streak is ending tonight. It was great while it lasted and it looks as though they'll be a force in the NCAA Tourney. Probable number two seed and maybe a one.

Committee to Protect Bloggers

For future reference.
Committee to Protect Bloggers

Saturday, February 05, 2005

Best of The Onion

One of the best parts of The Onion is the people they use in their pictures. The guy looks like he just fell out of bed.
See here!

RIAA Will Track You To Heaven Or Hell

From Strange News - AP

Gertrude Walton was recently targeted by the recording industry in a lawsuit that accused her of illegally trading music over the Internet. But Walton died in December after a long illness, and according to her daughter, the 83-year-old hated computers.

-- But not as much as the RIAA hates file swappers. Oops wait, seems it was all just a mistake.
Yahoo! News - Music Industry Sues 83-Year-Old Dead Woman

Now Playing

Hillbilly At Harvard on WHRB 95.3 FM - A 100% Garth and Reba free zone!

The best way to get it on the internet is probably through Live365. It's free, you just need to sign up and download a small player.

Thursday, February 03, 2005

Gospel Music & Swinging

The Lord Works In Mysterious Ways

Wow :-)! According to Bob Neumeier on WEEI AM in Boston: A hotel in Jacksonville, Florida, (site of The Event Which Must Not Be Referred To By Name XXIX), is host this weekend to a convention of swingers. You know, bring your wife and your girlfriend, meet and greet, press the flesh, etc. etc.     That's been talked about for a couple of days on the radio. But Neumeier has just reported that the same hotel has also been booked by a gospel choir which is in town to appear as part of the game day ceremonies.
Out of respect for the choir I'm not going to make any kind of snide comment or whatever but the opportunity does seem to be there.


In a semi related note: Eagles Wide Receiver Terrell Owens will play on Sunday even though he is still recuperating from an injury. Owens says God has given him the go ahead.

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

Marley From Jamaica To Ethiopia

The sixtieth anniversary of his birth is being celebrated in Ethiopia. His remains will be relocated there some time in the near future. The link is to a good bio and a mention of some local events in his honor. allAfrica.com: Botswana [column]: Bob Marley's Music Stands the Test of Time

Now Playing*

Ann Peebles - Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home

And I just heard I Can't Stand The Rain. Two largely forgotten classics from the 1970's originally released on Hi Records. They put out a Best Of collection at one point. I wouldn't be surprised if it's still available in one form or another. Other Hi artists include Al Green, Bill Black and Willie Mitchell.

*This is great. There's an Ann Peebles web page with bio info (promised) and discography. Cool!

Comprehensive Official Questionnaire - Please Complete Immediately

qillow: Exciting Questionaire... dont read or answer

Now Playing

'Round Midnight - Thelonious Monk
From The Complete Riverside Recordings Vol.6
It sounds great and the whole collection is available all over the net.

Fireman On Ladder - Dear Penthouse.......


Fireman on ladder
Originally uploaded by pmaiorana.
This is from pmaiorana's photostream on Flickr but much better than the actual picture is the Comment left by Michael Maggard.

Would You Jump Into My Grave That Fast?

I made a little joke yesterday about Neil Chayette and his Looking At The Law feature on WBZ radio in Boston. Within hours, before the ink had dried so to speak, I saw that very same joke as the header for a post from another blog. Minor changes had been made and it was attributed but there it was. I was pleased in a way because I had never seen my blog linked to and I'm glad they thought it was funny enough to repeat but I also have to say I wasn't crazy about seeing it repeated word for word, spelling revisions aside. I don't use a copyright so I won't complain on those grounds but I will say that there's a code of conduct among comedians. They don't tell each others jokes.

Debut of Music Posts

I was doing a separate blog devoted to music but it was pretty dead so I've decided to post music items here instead. The old posts are at Smusicbord. Check them out. There's some good stuff.

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

From Branding Strategy Stadium

in Jacksonville, Florida it's THE EVENT WHICH MUST NOT BE REFERRED TO BY NAME XXIX. It's copyrighted you know. And speaking of lawyers and ass, (see the previous post), unless you want a bunch of them breathing up yours, you will not infringe. Capice?

5th Circuit Rules in Rappers' Battle Over Phrase 'Back That Ass Up'

Neil Chayette probaly won't cover this in his Looking At The Law reports on WBZ radio in Boston. "I'm Neil Chayette, looking at that ass."
5th Circuit Rules in Rappers' Battle Over Phrase 'Back That Ass Up'